


Snow Angels

by hpyu



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: F/M, Love Triangle, Post-Game, Rivals, Unrequited, unrequited btyu for clear skin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-05
Updated: 2020-07-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:08:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,224
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25083631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hpyu/pseuds/hpyu
Summary: When it came to other people, no one infuriated Bede more than Hop did. But it wasn’t anything negative he did, it was how kind, sweet, and wonderful he was that wouldn’t let the fairy gym leader hate him for his one true offense: stealing Gloria’s heart before he could.
Relationships: Beet | Bede/Yuuri | Gloria, Hop/Yuuri | Gloria
Comments: 4
Kudos: 71





	Snow Angels

**Author's Note:**

> I was feeling snazzy so I wrote unrequited btyu because I’ve been thinking of bede for days now lolol I wasn’t planning on posting this but I hope you like it anyway!

Weather in Circhester is predictable: snow. All year round, everyday (unless some sort of miracle allowed a summer afternoon). Unfortunately, this specific day was no exception, and the temperature was still as cold as the town was used to. 

No one bothered to tell Bede about this. He’d been invited to watch an exhibition match in town, and since he knew a certain someone was coming, he couldn’t refuse. It was his first time in the snowy city, and he would’ve appreciated a heads up about the freezing cold. 

It was oddly comical, watching Ballonlea’s gym leader shiver through the narrow town streets after leaving the stadium by himself. However, his frustrated expression wasn’t the result of his discomfort for the cold, dry, air, but mostly because of the fact he came all this way and barely even got to see her. The most interaction he got was a smile and a wave, because she was way too busy with impromptu interviews and paparazzi to notice him properly. 

That’s what he thought, at least. He was caught completely off guard when he heard her distant voice calling his name, inching closer as she ran towards him. He quickly turned his body around, trying to hide his jaw’s freezing quivers as he saw her approach. She was smiling, and he thought her expression was so warm and bright it could’ve completely melted all the snow around them. 

“Bede! Wait up!” she exclaimed between gasps for air. She looked fairly athletic, but she had never been the runner type. Running around snow while wearing a massive cape and a tracksuit jacket didn’t seem too easy, either. She held onto his shoulder to catch her breath.

He flinched. Fortunately, she didn’t pick up on it, because he would’ve been so embarrassed if she knew how flustered he was. 

“Hello, Gloria,” he tried to sound cool, but it came out sort of emotionless, which is something he noticed and felt incredibly embarrassed about.

She didn’t point it out.

Gloria’s expression quickly turned to one of concern. “Hey… you’re just in your gym uniform? You’ll catch a cold!” 

He refused to let it be known that he had no idea Circhester’s weather was… like that. It would seem uncool, and man did he want to impress her. “Are you sure? I don’t feel cold at all,” he looked away from her eyes for a second.

“Bede. You’re physically shaking,” she pointed out. That much she’d noticed. _Wait, if she saw that, how much more did she see? Did she pick up on my flinching? Or my lame attempts at sounding cool?_ Those questions would forever go unanswered, and it made him very nervous.

“Well, yes, I suppose it is a bit cold out,” he stammered, his skin slowly turning pinker. “I guess I wasn’t too sure what to wear here. Figured I didn’t really need a sweater and— what are you doing?” he interrupted himself as he watched Gloria shuffle in place, trying to take off her tracksuit jacket. She held it towards him.

“Here, please take it,” she began poking at him with the jacket when she saw he wouldn’t budge. “My cape is already warm enough.”

Reluctantly, he took it and put it on. It was so warm, and it fit him perfectly, somehow. Her smile was so sweet, so even as embarrassing as this situation was, seeing her face sort of made up for it.

She playfully tugged at his sleeve. “It looks better on you than it does on me!” A statement that made him blush. Luckily, his nose was already pink from the cold, so it wasn’t too noticeable, but his face was hot regardless. She continued, “I guess the league isn’t used to having the champion be so… small. It’s the smallest size they had, but it was still huge on me! I think it fits you great,” a pause, then a giggle. “You can keep it.”

Oh, if only she knew how much Bede liked her, so much so that just that last sentence made his heart do a couple of backflips. “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to just take your nice league jacket—”

“Don’t be like that! I mean it,” she interrupted. “Anyways, I’m starving! That match lasted way longer than I thought it would,” she said as the two of them walked through the street. “You’ve never been here before, right?” 

“I haven’t.”

“Aah~ you should’ve told me! I would’ve definitely warned you to dress a bit warmer…” and he averted his eyes once again at her kindness, because it made him so nervous. “Well, since it’s your first time in town, how about we get some food together? There’s a really good restaurant around this corner, Hop took me to it during the gym challenge.”

Ah, there it was. The first mention of Hop (the first of many). She was head over heels for him, and there was no doubt in Bede’s mind that he felt the same way about her. They were basically meant to be together since the moment they met. He was so rude to the aspiring professor during the gym challenge, but he forgave him for it so quick Bede couldn’t bring himself to hate him. He wanted to, though. He wanted any reason to be mad at Hop, to hate him, any justifiable reason other than the fact that he knew he’d end up taking Gloria away sooner or later. But hating someone like Hop wasn’t easy, especially not when he was so stupidly sweet. It was _unnerving_ how kind he was, and it only made Bede feel guiltier for being so jealous of him.

He let out a sigh, and it made him sound more annoyed than he meant to. “Yeah, that’s okay. We can go together if you want,” he shrugged, but his indifferent facade hid the excitement of going on some sort of ‘date’ with her.

It’s not like they needed some sort of reservation at this point, being in the League and all. They were basically treated as celebrities, especially Gloria, although she was never a huge fan of all the attention. Bede, on the other hand, loved feeling important and wanted. However, they were still real people, and Galar was usually good at respecting that. The two of them effortlessly found a table and sat across from each other, catching up on their lives and talking about the little things as well. How Opal was doing and how much work Gloria had now that she was the champion. Bede loved these kinds of conversations where he could see Gloria talk about her day to day life. He liked her so much, the way her hand gestures emphasized the way she talked, how she smiled all the time and treated the servers around her. She was a ball of pure sunshine.

And as they continued to talk about anything and everything, ball of sunshine number two made an appearance. Gloria had her back turned towards the door, so she wasn’t able to see anyone come in or out. But Bede thought he saw someone familiar, and after taking a closer look, his expression turned sour when he realized it was Hop.

“Hey, you okay?” His eyes drifted back towards Gloria’s when he heard her speak.

“Yes, I’m fine. Don’t worry about it.” Maybe it was selfish of him to say that. He just didn’t want her to know Hop was here because she’d definitely invite them to their table, and Bede knew he’d have to watch them relentlessly (yet very obliviously) flirt with each other, which he did not want. Not at all. 

But his double take was very obvious, and Gloria couldn’t resist her curiosity. Bede watched in horror as she turned her head back and met his eyes.

Her face immediately got brighter. Of course it did, she was in love with him, after all.

With Hop.

It was just as Bede predicted. She excitedly called him over, and he looked so happy when he saw her. They greeted each other with a warm hug, one that lasted an uncomfortably long amount of time, but her eyes were sparkling. They always were when she was around him. 

Gloria gestured to the chair next to her, “I was just telling Bede about back home in Postwick! Come sit with me!” He smiled and nodded, making his way toward the empty seat while taking off his wool-lined jacket. 

“Hey mate! I haven’t seen you in a while,” he spoke kindly to Bede, it was so energetic, yet so sweet. He was literally an angel.

Bede held his own arms, unintentionally looking way more upset than he meant. It’s not that he was mad at Hop, he was just mad at… the _idea_ of Hop. How his existence made him incredibly angry, but he simply could not bring himself to hate him because he was so _stupidly nice_ all the time. He’d smile at the league staff, would strike a spontaneous conversation with the employees at the Pokémon center, and even managed to become friends with _Piers_ out of all people. Hop was the only trainer that Allister felt genuinely comfortable around other than Bea, which made no sense in the first place because such an exuberant amount of energy would usually exhaust the young gym leader. That’s just how easy to talk to he was. Also the fact he was tall, decently good looking, madly skilled at battle, and ridiculously smart… 

Not to mention how Gloria had totally fallen for him. _The Cherubi on top._

An obstacle, per se. But he was _so annoyingly perfect_ , just the thought of trying to beat him at anything at all made Bede’s head hurt. 

He tightly shut his eyes, reopening them immediately after. “Hello, Hop, it’s nice to see you.”

_No it wasn’t._

Gloria smiled though, because she finally saw Bede interact with Hop like how normal humans do, without ripping him to shreds about how “untalented and skill-lacking” he was. It was refreshing to see him be kind, Opal was truly the best thing to happen to him. 

They continued their conversation as usual, talking about their homes and early childhoods. Bede didn’t speak much; it’s not like he remembered much of his youth anyway. He grew up essentially by himself, never met his biological parents, and the closest thing he had to a father disowned him and is now in jail. His past wasn’t particularly a fond memory, he hated remembering how lonely and untalented he felt as a kid. All he could comment on were some of the childhood trends and snacks he recognized, occasionally cracking a smile every time Gloria giggled. Normally, these conversations would make him terribly uncomfortable, but learning about Gloria’s past made him feel a little warmer. Additionally, Hop was there to remind her of any embarrassing details in her stories, which Bede greatly appreciated. 

What he didn’t appreciate, however, was how Hop seemed to know her better than she knew herself. He knew _every_ single tiny detail about her. It was only natural, seeing as how the pair had been extremely close forever, but Bede wanted Gloria all to himself. He wanted to know everything about her as well, how many freckles she had on her face, what her favorite ice cream flavor was, maybe even her favorite movie. Seeing Hop make remarks about Gloria’s past and correcting her so accurately when she messed up made Bede feel kind of dumb, even though that made no sense to him. 

She hummed when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. In a quick motion, she took it out to turn it off, but paused once she saw the caller.

“It’s from the League… I’ll have to take this one,” Bede nodded, and she politely excused herself from the table.

With Gloria now gone, the gym leader shifted in his seat uncomfortably. He took a sip of his water, although there wasn’t much left in his cup, and looked down to his knees. What was he supposed to do? _Talk_ to Hop? He’d never been in a situation by himself with him.

Over thirty seconds of complete silence passed, and all Bede wanted was for Gloria to hurry back over and end the awkwardness. He completely avoided looking in front of him in an effort to not make any accidental eye contact.

“Well… what’s it like being a gym leader?” Hop asked, somewhat awkwardly, but it seemed so easy and natural for him to be so friendly.

“It’s fine.” His response was dry, but he didn’t mean it. 

“Gloria said your gym mission was really neat! I’m sure it is, knowing you and all. I’d love to stop by and check it out sometime, once the gym challenge starts back up!” 

“Sure…” he spoke quietly. Hop’s kindness made him… uncomfortable? Not particularly that, it just irked him how nice he was to him after everything. Bede never officially apologized for anything, but all he did was receive his kindness in return, and he wasn’t sure how to react.

…

He didn’t notice how long the silence was until Hop interrupted it. 

“Bede… do you not like me?”

His line of sight shot upwards in front of him, his cheeks as pink as his gym uniform and his eyes wide with surprise. That question greatly flustered him.

“N-no, I mean-... yes, I do but-” his voice cracked, and he stopped for a second to take a deep sigh. “Dude, I don’t know how to talk to you.” 

“Why?” he tilted his head to the side. There wasn’t any sort of annoyance in his question, just pure curiosity.

Bede _hated_ that. He hated how perfect Hop was. “I don’t dislike you at all, it just upsets me how you’re _like that_.”

“Like what?”

“Do you want the long list or the short one?” he said, and after immediately realizing how rude that sounded, “That was mean, my bad. I’m working on it.”

But Hop just smiled and nodded, saying that it was alright. 

“It’s nothing negative at all, it’s quite the opposite, if I’m being honest. You’re so confident, and so nice to everyone, and you’re so good at making friends. People automatically like you because you’re just so sweet, even if you don’t have to be, and that bothers me.”

Hop’s golden eyes widened a bit. Was that… a compliment? He raised his eyebrow, and quietly said “...Thank you?”

“I’m not done.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine. Anyways, where was I? Oh yeah, you’re also so smart, super talented in battle, and your family is perfect, and Gloria-” he paused for a second, mentally reprimanding himself for almost revealing too much. “My point is… Hop, you’re basically all I want to be. I’m not half the person you are, no matter how hard I try. I don’t know how to approach you because you’re just so _perfect_ , and it-”

“Stop,” Hop interrupted.

“What?”

“Don’t say that. Bede, I’m not perfect at all! You’re so misguided,” his voice sounded so much softer than usual. “Tell you what, I don’t think too highly of myself at all. I’m really not as smart as you think I am. When it comes to battle, I’ve always felt like I haven’t been any good at it. And my family isn’t… like that. Being related to Leon is more of a burden than you’d think.”

Bede stared at him dumbly. He wasn’t expecting that kind of reply at all, and before he could say anything, Hop just kept talking.

“I guess that might be why I’ve admired you for a long time now-”

“Hold on, _what?”_ he cut him off, his usually pale skin painted pink. “Why me? A-are you serious? I’ve been nothing but terrible to you! I never even properly apologized, for Arceus’ sake!”

Hop’s eyes drifted away, smiling softly, which made Bede blush even more. “Hear me out,” he said. “You know, during the gym challenge, I was constantly walking under Leon’s shadow. It wasn’t just you, it was also the public that constantly compared me to him. I felt so pressured to be someone I wasn’t, and everything was about Leon. It was always about Leon. It would’ve been nice if things were just about Hop for a change.”

He looked almost sad, and Bede felt so bad for him. He wanted to say something, but didn’t bother since he couldn’t find the right words, so Hop continued.

“Even from the beginning, you were always challenger Bede. You may have constantly flaunted the chairman’s endorsement, but you were incredibly strong on your own. No one knew you as ‘the chairman’s foster kid,’ you were just ‘Bede.’ I always thought Opal’s mission was funny. She interviewed so many kids, but didn’t find a single one who properly fit her role. Yet she… she saw something in you. You didn’t even _reach_ her gym, but she immediately chose you as her successor! Bede, you’re your own person. You’ve always been, and I’ve always been so jealous of it.”

It was so weird to hear him say something like that. The gym leader never really thought anything of his individuality, but he found it so strange that Hop, perfect as he was, felt like he had nothing real to show. “That… thank you, really. I needed to hear it.”

Seeing Hop reveal this side of himself was refreshing. It was nice to know that Bede wasn’t the only one who was insecure, even if it was in a different way. Maybe he didn’t see him as too unreachable anymore, but it didn’t change the fact that he still had Gloria’s heart, and there was no way Bede would back out now.

“I guess you’re not as impossible as I thought you were. Doesn’t mean I’m not going to beat you,” he said.

Hop looked confused once again. “Beat me? At what?”

But all Bede did was look over at Gloria, who was making her way back to the table, and then smugly back at Hop, who understood exactly what he meant. It completely flustered him, and he made a face Bede had never seen before. A mix of outrage, shock, and also pure embarrassment. It was hilarious to see him get so defensive.

“That took a lot longer than I thought it would! Sorry about that, you guys. I hope it wasn’t too awkward?” she sat down at her spot next to Hop, who without breaking eye contact with Bede, put his arm around Gloria’s shoulder and pulled her close. She hugged back, obliviously believing it was a usual display of appreciation (which was a valid misinterpretation, seeing how close they were, these kinds of things happened all the time), but Bede’s eyes narrowed because he knew exactly what Hop was doing.

He let go of her to take a sip of soda. “Oh, don’t worry. We had a wonderful conversation!” 

“It’s so good to hear you guys are pals!” she smiled softly, relieved that her best friends were finally getting along.

Bede smirked. “Yes, you could even say we have our own kind of rivalry going on.”

And there’s many things Hop may be better at, but if there’s one thing he knows about Bede… is that he puts up a good fight.


End file.
